Where The Michigan Football LB Unit Ranks Heading Into 2023 Season

Pro Football Focus continues its positional rankings and the analytic site thinks the Wolverines have a pretty good linebacker unit.

Pro Football Focus continues its countdown to college football by ranking each positional unit in college football.

PFF is down to the linebacking unit where it ranked the top 10 teams in college football. 

Michigan came in at No. 5 in the country, led by middle linebacker, Junior Colson.

On the latest episode of PFF’s NFL Stock Exchange podcast, PFF draft analyst Connor Rogers revealed his No. 2 linebacker in the 2024 draft is Michigan’s Junior Colson. He made a massive leap from his true freshman season to his sophomore campaign, improving his grade from 48.5 to 75.5. He also was a sure tackler, leading all Big Ten linebackers with just a 6% missed tackle rate in 2022.

The Wolverines return both starting linebackers from a year ago, as Michael Barrett is back for his sixth season. He excels on passing downs, placing fourth among Big Ten linebackers in both coverage grade (78.1) and pass-rushing grade (76.2) last season.

Michigan has four really talented linebackers on its roster heading into 2023. Colson has first-round grades entering his junior year of college -- which may be his last. He led the team with 101 tackles last season and has an instinct for where the ball is -- he's a playmaker. 

The Wolverines will have a battle for the other starting linebacker in their nickel package between Michael Barrett and Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann. 

Barrett started last year for Michigan and excelled in Jesse Minter's defense. He finished second on the team in tackles with 72. He was an All-Big Ten player and was named the 'most improved player' on the Wolverines' defense. Barrett more than likely has the inside track to start for the maize and blue. 

But you can't count out Hausmann who played a ton of football last season for the Cornhuskers as a true freshman. He started seven games last year and appeared in all of them. He finished the season with 54 tackles and even impressed against Michigan where he had 10 tackles and a sack. According to PFF, he did have 10 missed tackles last year, so that is one area that will need to be worked on if he gets to start for Michigan.

Lastly, sophomore Jimmy Rolder is also have a rotation role and impact on the defense. He appeared in all 13 games for Michigan and tallied 14 tackles. Rolder didn't grade out the best according to PFF, with a 55.8 defensive grade, but he is only going to improve with experience. 

A few other linebackers who could crack the rotation are Micah Pollard, Joey Velazquez, and Jaydon Hood. 

PFF's top five linebacking units are: Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State came in at No. 6.